One Night in Hell
by Jarth Kebil
Summary: A novelization of the classic action/adventure game, "Batman: Arkham Asylum". After turning in the Joker once again, Batman thinks it's over for the night. Little does he know that it's only the beginning of what may be the worst night in his life. Rated T for violence and mild language.
1. Welcome to the Madhouse

**Here it is: the prologue to my novelization of "Arkham Asylum". Enjoy reading!**

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**Chapter 1:**

**Welcome to the Madhouse**

The rain came down hard onto the filthy streets of Gotham City, creating slimy streams of dirt, trash and other residue of that nature. It had been raining pretty hard all day, and it showed little signs of stopping. Up in the sky the Bat-Signal shown dimly on the black storm clouds, periodically flickering in and out of sight against the bright flashes of lightning.

Sirens wailed downtown as a team of police and ambulance cars raced down the street heading toward City Hall in response to a distress call made earlier. The Joker, a psychopathic serial killer clown native to Gotham, had finally come out of hiding since his escape from Arkham Asylum the other night, and was now raiding City Hall and holding the mayor hostage. There was no time to lose, and some of the officers began to assume that the worse had already happened.

That is, until dispatch announced that Batman, a costumed vigilante who has been known as the city's self-proclaimed protector for quite a few years now, had beaten the police to the location. The radio continued to proclaim that Batman had apprehended the Joker and now had him under custody. As if on cue, a strange looking vehicle came charging straight toward them at full speed.

One of the patrol cars just managed to swerve out of the way as the Batmobile went zooming right by them without slowing down. The cops pulled their car to a halt and jumped out to try and get a glimpse of the speeding motorcar before it disappeared around the corner a couple of blocks away. One of the policemen gave a low whistle while the other one just looked down at his feet and gave a soft groan.

"Well, son of a...", he chuckled humorlessly, "You know it's a bad week when you have to finally admit that a costumed freak is way better at doing your job than _you _are. Ha!"

* * *

Batman didn't slow down as he left the city limits and turned right at the next exit. He rapidly approached a sign that read, "ARKHAM: Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Patients". He whizzed right by it without taking any notice; this was all routine for him by now, and he was more than ready for the day to be done with already.

It was bad enough that Joker escaped from the asylum for the God-knows-how-many-eth time last night and led the Dark Knight on a wild goose chase, but then he had to pull this kind of stunt at City Hall right after Batman got done rounding up the remaining Blackgate Prison escapees.

Apparently a large fire had gotten out of control at said penitentiary around the same time as Joker's own escape from Arkham, and many of the inmates managed to break out during the chaos. The remainder of Batman's day was spent in trying to find and apprehend all the Blackgate fugitives while also trying to locate the Joker.

It was right after he had caught the last thug and turned him over to the police when he got the distress call announcing that Joker was holding the mayor hostage at City Hall, all the way on the other side of town. He was truly fortunate to have made it fast enough to stop Joker from doing any serious damage. A few minutes later, the clown was handcuffed and shoved into the Batmobile without much resistance, and now they were en route back to Arkham Asylum. Batman anticipated that it would finally be the end of whatever Joker had in mind for the time being.

And yet, something did not feel right at all...

His thoughts were briefly interrupted by the rather obnoxious sounds and motions his prisoner was making. "Stand back fool, I've got a bomb!", the clown mumbled loudly to no one in particular, rocking back and forth in his seat as he did so. Then he did a double take and quipped, "Oh, right," then proceeded with his trademark uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Batman just ignored him and kept his eyes on the rain drenched road ahead of him. The sheer amount of rainfall made the roads tricky to travel on at high speed and it was difficult to see anything through the windshield. Fortunately he had driven this way many, many times before in his long crime fighting career, making numerous drop-offs at the mental institute.

It wasn't too much longer before he came across the bridge that separated the rest of the city from Arkham Island, home to many of the most dangerous and mentally unstable criminals Gotham has ever seen. The Batmobile zoomed through the open gates that read "ARKHAM ASYLUM" on top. About halfway through the bridge Batman could see the outline of the few buildings that held the inhabitants of the establishment.

After a couple of minutes he finally made it to the island. A second set of gates had already been opened upon his arrival. No doubt they had been expecting him. He brought the Batmobile to a screeching halt in front of the Intensive Treatment building, where he noticed a lone police car parked right next to his. Perhaps Commissioner Gordon was inside waiting to have a word with him.

Batman opened the panels about him and exited the vehicle, keeping an eye on the Joker. He then proceeded to roughly pull him out of the car and hold him against the hood while he removed the handcuffs that bound Joker. Originally he had Joker's hands cuffed in the front to make sitting in the Batmobile easier, but now he needed his hands cuffed behind him to make sure he couldn't do anything that would suggest a desperate attempt to escape.

"Hey Bats, not so rough tonight; I've got a splitting headache," Joker whined coyly as Batman kept his face pressed to the car's hood. Batman ignored him as he cuffed the Joker's hands behind him. He knew better than to say anything and encourage him to keep throwing out lame jokes and double entourages.

He then started to lead, or rather, push the Joker to the steel doors that were locked and sealed tight. He then shoved Joker into a kneeling position as he pushed a button on the intercom and stated, "Batman here with the Joker in custody. Open the doors."

A few seconds later he could hear the locks inside the building being released electronically, then the doors opened wide with a hiss to reveal a handful of security guards with their guns all trained on the Joker.

Batman then roughly pulled him up to his feet and pushed him in front, indicating that he should start walking. At the other end of the room he could see Warden Quincy Sharp waiting for him with a couple of more guards with their guns aiming at Joker, waiting for him to try something.

Batman then tugged on Joker's collar, causing him to stop in his tracks. He kept a tight grip on his coat, making sure he didn't pull anything. It never paid off to lower his guard for even a secon around this madman. Joker lifted his head and gave a nasty grin to Sharp while the warden continued to glare at him all the while.

"Hey, Sharpie," Joker growled happily, "Love what you've done with the place."

"That's _'Warden _Sharp' to you," the older man snapped annoyingly, straightening his tie. "Boles!" he barked to a guard at his right. The guard made no response, but started walking toward the Joker.

"Yo, Frank-ay!" Joker yelled excitedly. "How's the wife and kids? You miss me?"

"Shut it, clown!" Boles said angrily, grabbing the Joker by the coat and pulling him toward his face. Boles' face was hard and menacing, and he had a scar running over his left eye, presumably leaving that one blinded.

"A lotta people really wanna talk to you," he continued in a lower tone. He yanked Joker from Batman's grasp and started pulling him toward an empty handcart.

"Really, I don't mind walking," Joker said while Boles and another guard removed his handcuffs and pressed him hard against he handcart. "Not so tight, boys; you'll crease the suit," he continued to laugh as they continued to strap him down tightly.

Batman just stood back watching, feeling uneasy. It wasn't like the Joker to simply allow himself to be caught this quickly and easily. The events at City Hall took less than five minutes and Joker barley resisted. It just wasn't like him at all, and it made Batman suspicious.

"Get that filthy degenerate out of here!" Sharp ordered heatedly. The guards started to pull the handcart carrying Joker away.

"Warden, something's not right," Batman told Sharp. "I'm going with him." Sharp turned and gave him an annoyed, yet somewhat terrified look, but didn't say anything to stop him. Warden Sharp was by no means a fan of the Dark Knight and would've preferred it if he just left now; but he also didn't want to do anything that might anger the rather frightening vigilante, so he just let him walk off with the escort.

Batman walked up to another guard and asked, "Is Commission Gordon here?"

"Yes, sir," the man answered. "He's, uh, waiting for you down at Patient Handover. Uh, he got here just before you did." Batman could clearly tell the guy was slightly nervous as he addressed him. This wasn't unusual, as a lot of people found him rather unsettling due to his dark costume and grim, silent demeanor.

They approached a lift as a couple of spotlights flashed on and directed their attention at the Joker. Having one of the most dangerous killers around was certainly cause for alarm, and no one around him was willing to take any chances as they guided him to his cell.

Joker took this time to start rambling and making more jokes, as he was not the type to simply sit there quietly. "Sharpie _loves _his cameras," he said, noting the numerous security cameras lining the walls. "Hey Sharpie, you get my good side? Aw, but heck, they're _all _good, aren't they?" No one said anything as Joker giggled at his own jest.

"I want him securely locked away this time," Warden Sharp stated behind them as the lift began its descent. Joker started looking around some more, taking in the sights around him. "Look at all this new security," he said to himself. "How's a guy suppose to break out of here?" He grinned evilly.

The lift came to a stop and they all started walking again, this time through a large, circular scanner. The loud speaker rang out as they walked, and a disembodied woman's voice said, _"New patient in the Intensive Treatment lobby. All non-essential staff to vacate the area."_

The group continued to walk through the scanner as the Joker sighed happily, "Ah, it's always nice to return to my sweet little 'ha-ha-hatsienda'." They came to a stop as the doors closed and the machine came to life. "Scan initializing," one of the guards operating the scanner said as it started to scan them.

"You know what?" the Joker kept going. "I prefer the good old cavity search: much more personal." He was interrupted when the scanner started beeping loudly. "We got a red light," the operator said. "Multiple prohibited items."

"I want Joker searched again!" another voice cried, this one Batman recognized as belonging to Officer Aaron Cash, one of the senior guards at Arkham.

"Uh, i-it's not the patient, it's..." the other guard said worriedly. The scanner had detected the many different items that Batman kept in his utility belt, and it made the scanner go wild.

"Oooooh," Joker squealed, catching that it was Batman causing the disturbance. "Whatcha sneak in with ya, Bats? Come on, tell me tell me! Batarangs? Bat-Claws? Ooh, Bat-Snacks?" Once again, Batman didn't respond. He just continued to keep an eye on the clown.

A minute later, there was a "Scan's green on Joker," from the guard and a "Open the gate! Get him out of there," from Cash, and the doors opened up and they continued walking. Outside they met Cash, a guard probably in his early forties with a hook for a left hand, a souvenir from an encounter long ago with Killer Croc, one of the more violent inmates.

"I want weapons on him at all times," he said, keeping his own gun on Joker. "Do not let him out of you sight."

The Joker merely smiled at him. "There'll be time enough later for you, Cash," he said menacingly. "Speaking of time, _tick tock, tick tock. _Is that a crocodile I hear?" Cash just sneered at him.

They turned left and entered a hallway as they passed a doctor going the other way. The Joker turned to him and laughed, "What's up, doc? Cancel me in tomorrow at four. We've got a lot of catching up to do!"

They continued down the hall when they passed a television screen on the wall that had a prerecorded video of Sharp playing. In it he started saying, "Hello, new patient. This is Quincey Sharp, warden of Arkham Asylum..." Joker noticed and started saying over it, "Oooh, it's my favorite show: 'I'm Warden Idiot'," he continued in his mocking Sharp impression. "'You'll never escape!' Hahahahaha!"

As Joker continued to laugh, Batman heard a voice from his left saying, "Hey, it's Joker!" He looked over to see a group of the same Blackgate prisoners he caught earlier being led down the opposite direction. The guy who recognized Joker started leading the others in chanting the Joker's name over and over again. The Joker looked over at them and his wicked smile grew even bigger. The guard leading them told them to shut up and keep moving.

After a few minutes of silence, Joker remarked, "I'm telling you, the state of the wiring in these federal facilities is... well, shocking! My boys over there could've been hurt in that unfortunate fire." Batman knew he was referring to the fire that occurred at Blackgate the other day, proving his theory that Joker _was _behind it somehow.

They were brought to a stop by another doctor, who said while approaching, "Just gonna check your prisoner, Officer Boles." The guard rolled his eyes and replied, "Whatever, just be quick!"

"Only following procedure," the doctor said flatly. He walked up to Joker and started sizing him up. "Patient seems to be in satisfactory condition," he began. "Looks like he suffered minor lacerations, probably in the last two hours. There seems to be..."

He was cut off abruptly when Joker lunged for him without warning, causing the doctor to jump back. Batman tensed up and the guards raised their weapons higher. Joker started laughing uncontrollably and said, "Need to take my temperature? I'd be happy to drop my pants."

The doctor recovered himself when he saw nothing was going to happen and gave an irritated grunt. "He's all yours. Get him out of here!" he said angrily.

"He's good," one of the guards called to another. "Get the door open." The other one nodded and unlocked it. As they went through the loudspeaker rang again and said, _"Alert in Intensive Treatment: Category Nine patient in transit_. _Pacification system active. Shoot to kill permissions granted." _Batman recognized "Category Nine" as being a highly dangerous type of patient, more so than perhaps Joker.

"You heard the lady," a guard said as they stopped by an elevator and waited for it to come up. "We got another psycho on the way!" As they waited Joker asked, "Can you smell the excitement in the air? No? Huh. Must've been one of the guards then."

The others ignored him as the elevator came up slowly, straining and creating sparks as it carried something extremely heavy inside. The others all held their breaths, but Joker seemed to get excited as he called out, "Croc, old boy! Is that you?"

The door started to open and someone said, "Get ready. Keep you weapons trained on it at all times." When it opened all the way, it revealed some form of large, scaly mass sitting in it. The thing stepped out and straightened up to reveal a large man, probably around eleven feet tall, covered from head to foot in green scales.

All the guards took a step back, one of them whispered, "...looks hungry." A spotlight shone on it, causing it to blink and turn away. Then it started sniffing the air. "What's it doing?" It then turned and saw Batman. Batman remained unfazed as the creature known as Killer Croc stared at him for a second, then took a step toward him

It raised one of its shackled claws and pointed at him, saying in a deep, guttural voice, "I've got your scent, Batman. I will hunt you down!" One of the guards yelled to get the animal under control while another activated the shock collar around its neck. The beast roared loudly as the electricity coursed through its body. It hissed through its large, bare teeth and continued to address Batman. "A toy collar won't stop me from killing you, Batman. I'll rip you apart, eat your bones..."

He walked around them and disappeared around the corner, on his way to his cell. Nobody said anything for a moment until Joker quipped, "That reminds me: I really need to get me some new shoes!" When everyone started breathing again, the head guard said, "Okay, move up," and they entered the elevator, which smelled like a sewer due to Croc's recent presence in there.

"Hold tight," the guard said as the elevator started to go down shakily. The Joker started to get giddy again and squealed, "Wheee! Great night for a party!"

"Not where you're going," Batman finally growled deeply. Joker just chuckled and replied, "The night is young, Bats; I still have a trick or two up my sleeve! I mean, don't you think it's a little bit funny how a fire at Blackgate caused hundreds of my crew to be moved here?"

Batman did think it was very strange. On the same day Joker escapes, his henchmen break out of Blackgate and end up here with him. Not to mention that Joker seems a little _too _happy to be here. Very strange indeed.

Joker started to laugh again until Officer Boles shouted, "I thought I told you to stay quiet!" The clown simply looked at him and whispered eerily, "Oh, Frankie. You really should learn to keep that fat mouth of yours shut. It'll get you into trouble."

"Tell me something," Batman demanded. "You've never let me catch you this easily. What are you _really _after?'

"Oh, nothing much," Joker replied playfully. "Hundreds dying in pain and fear, all their meaningless lives brought to a horrifying conclusion. All thanks to you and a book of matches. Was that the answer you wanted?"

No, it wasn't, but it was the answer he would expect him to say. It seemed pretty clear now that Joker had no intention of leaving, and it wasn't like him at all. Batman started to get a little bit more worried.

The television screen next to them came to life and started playing Sharp's message again. "All patients should avoid contact with prisoners from Blackgate Prison Facility. Their presence..."

Suddenly the elevator stopped abruptly and the lights went out. Joker started laughing maniacally and Batman instinctively lunged for him. He gripped Joker's throat as he continued to laugh. The guards started panicking. "What's he doing? Stay where you are! Get a flashlight! Get a light on him!"

The power came back and the elevator started moving again. Batman's gloved hand was wrapped tight around Joker's neck. Joker leaned closer to him and hacked, "W-what? Don't you trust me?" Batman slammed him back and released his grip. Soon enough, the elevator came to a shaky stop and opened up to reveal yet another group of guards waiting for them.

"Our guest has arrived," one of them remarked as they exited the elevator with Joker in tow and entered Patient Handover. "So, you're back," the guard continued angrily. "You killed three of my crew when you busted out of here!"

"Only _three?_" Joker asked in mock surprise. "Ha! I'll be sure to try harder next time! What say we aim for _a hundred!_" By now Batman was really starting to worry. From the sound of it Joker was defiantly cooking up something and it didn't sound good.

His mind was temporally put at ease when he noticed Commissioner James Gordon filling out paperwork at a nearby booth. He walked over to him and remarked, "Long night, Jim?" Gordon looked up and chuckled. "Joker invades City Hall and holds the mayor hostage, leaving it to me to juggle SWAT teams, the media and you," he said, shaking his hand. "Yeah, it's been a helluva night."

Batman agreed, stating, "Hopefully the last that we'll ever have with him." Joker had been taken to Arkham so long and still showed no signs of mental recovery. Batman guessed that at this point the only thing Joker can look forward to was Death Row. He wasn't sure if he completely liked the idea, but at least it would be one less thing for him to have to worry about.

"Hold it there." They were stopped by one last guard and an orderly. "Sorry Batman, Arkham staff only."

"I assure you, if anyone's qualified it's..." Gordon began annoyingly but the guard cut him off saying, "Uh, listen, I appreciate the assistance, but he'll unsettle the more violent inmates." Batman nodded at Gordon, telling him that he was right.

Behind them Joker started laughing again. "I think he's talking about _you, _Bats!" he said as he was being led away by Officer Boles. Boles then handed Joker over to the other guard as he continued, "Don't be a stranger! You're always welcome here!"

The orderly then deactivated the door's electrical barrier and the three of them entered the Holding Cells. "Gotta say, it's good to be back!"

Gordon glanced at Batman and noticed that his expression was unusually dark. "You okay?" he asked.

No, he wasn't. The prisoners, the capture, Joker's eagerness to be back; it was all too suspicious for him. "He surrendered almost without a fight," he explained to Gordon. "I don't like it."

"At least he's back where he belongs," Gordon said reassuringly as the barrier went back up on the door. They went into the office to watch as the guard and orderly guided Joker to the next electrical door.

So far everything looked okay: Joker wasn't resisting, and they were nearly out of the room. Just then Joker tripped and fell to the floor. "Get up, now!" The guard knealed down to get Joker to his feet, but just then the clown bashed his head to his face and stunned him. He then got behind him and started choking him with his handcuffs.

This was exactly what Batman had been afraid would happen the entire time he was there.

"Joker's loose! Alert the warden!" he told Gordon as he started pounding his fist away at the glass.

"Hurry, we're losing him doc!" Joker laughed in a sing-song voice as he continued to strangle the guard. The orderly tried to get him off but Joker merely kicked him away. The guard stopped struggling and fell to the ground lifeless. The Joker leaned over him and whispered, "The 'choke's' on you!"

He began to do a merry little dance, laughing hysterically all the while. Then with a theatrical "Ta-da!", he pointed to the electrical barrier and said playfully to the camera, "Honey, I'm home!" The barrier went down and he started to skip his way through.

Batman finally managed to break the glass and he jumped down into the Holding Cells trying to give chase, but he was too late. The Joker got to the other side and before Batman could catch him the door was reactivated and the electrical barrier went back up.

Joker turned and proclaimed loudly with open arms, "Welcome to the madhouse, Batman! I set a trap and you sprang it _gloriously!_ Now let's get this party started!" With that he turned tail and began to run.

Batman caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and saw that about three thugs escaped from their cells and were crowding in to attack him. He could hear Joker's voice over the loudspeaker as he taunted the Dark Knight.

"Ladies and maniacs," he announced. "I apologize for this interruption to your regular entertainment. Up until a few seconds ago, I'd tell you to kill everyone in the room and then watch cartoons. But then, well, you know how I _do _love a captive audience!"

As he went on, the prisoners began their attack on Batman, swinging their fists wildly. Batman ducked the first one and then started connecting punches of his own. He elbowed on in the face, then landed a right cross on another, then kicked the third one to the ground. This one he proceeded to jump on, pinning him to the floor, then knocked him out with another punch.

After taking out the other two, Batman took a second to stretch his limbs out when he heard Joker speaking again.

"I'm just warming you up, Bats!" he said joyfully. "Fresh from Blackgate Correction Facility, with a combined sentence of seven hundred fifty-two years, _ding ding ding ding ding, _it's round two!"

With that a couple more cell doors deactivated and four more Blackgate prisoners charged him. While he was busy taking them down Joker continued, "Sorry Bats, gotta run! I got places to go, people to slay!"

A few minutes later, all the crooks were on the ground unconscious. Years of martial arts training left Batman without so much as a scratch. He looked up at Gordon who informed him, "The system's jammed, we're stuck in here! Joker's in full control of the security gates."

"I'll find a way out," Batman replied. "Gordon, try and contact the warden. Let him know what's happened. I'll be back."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Bats!" Joker's image popped up on one of the screens. "I'm in control of the asylum. You're not going anywhere I don't want you to. Understand?"

Batman glared at the image. "If you think I'll let you run..."

"Blah blah blah! Always with the hero speak! Ooh, I'm getting bored of watching you. Why don't you just come find me?" With that, the electric barrier over the door Joker went through deactivated and Batman was able to get in.

"You know it's a trap," Gordon warned him.

"Of course it is." Batman started running in the direction he last saw Joker go. It had been a long day, and he was not about ready for Joker to start causing even _more _trouble.

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**Well, there is the first chapter! Please review and let me know what you think: if you like it, if you don't, if there's anything I need to fix, let me know and enjoy!**


	2. A Shocking Rescue

**Finally! Here's chapter two! Enjoy it (I know I did)!**

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**Chapter 2:**

**A Shocking Rescue**

Batman continued to run down the smokey hallway, hoping he'll be able to catch the Joker before anyone could get seriously hurt or worse. How could he not have seen this coming? The entire night Joker was just way too enthusiastic about coming back to this wretched place. At least he was here when it happened; hopefully he could put a stop to whatever Joker was planning and get him locked up before long.

He got to the end of the hall when he saw one of the guards slumped over on the floor, covered in blood. Batman didn't even bother to check his pulse: it was quite clear that Joker had got to him first.

_Everywhere that madman goes, death is sure to follow! _He cursed himself inwardly for not being able to get there sooner. He couldn't stand the idea of being responsible for anyone's death.

He turned right and continued running as hard as he could. Alarms were blaring loudly everywhere as he sped down the small, winding hallways. Suddenly two more prisoners appeared around the corner at the end of the hall and started charging him. Batman didn't slow down, but continued to run in their direction and delivered a flying kick into one of them, pinning him hard to the wall.

Batman instinctively ducked as the other one behind him tried to land a blow against the back of his skull. He elbowed him in the abdomen, then followed it up with an uppercut to his jaw. While the thug doubled over Batman took him by the neck and grabbed the other one and bashed both of their skulls together. Both of them crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

"Hey Batman! Over here!", someone called down the hallway to his left. He saw a guard run up to him earnestly. The guard took a second to catch his breath while the intercom continuously droned, _"...Warning: security breach in Level B6. Warning: security breach in Level B4. Warning: security..."_

When the guard managed to composed himself,he looked up at Batman and asked, "What happened?"

"Joker happened," Batman replied simply. "You're lucky to be alive."

"He must've gone this way," the guard said, motioning to the door behind him. "Door's jammed. I'll try to get it open." Before he could touch it, however, his radio crackled to life and another voice started yelling, _"We need help in Pacification! I repeat, we need backup in Pacification! Can anyone hear this?" _The radio immediately went dead. The other guard started shaking it trying to get it reconnected.

"Can you hear me?", he called into it. "I'm with Batman! Hello?" Batman wasted no time in figuring out that something wrong was happening on the other side of the radio.

"Where are they?", he asked the guard hurriedly, who pointed behind Batman, "Back down there. Do you need help?"

"No," Batman told him. "I work better alone." Batman turned to leave but suddenly the radio screamed back to life. _"Zsasz is free!"_, it shouted frantically. _"Oh God! He's got Mike!" _There was a strangled scream and the radio went dead again.

"Franklin, can you hear me?", the guard called into it again, horrified. "If you can, help's on the way!" No prompting was needed to get Batman running in the opposite direction.

_No, not Zsasz. Not now! _Batman was more than familiar with the notorious criminal known as Victor Zsasz. Another psychotic serial killer residing in Arkham, Zsasz literally made his mark on Gotham by carving tally marks on his body, one for each of his victims. He took pride on his many body counts, so naturally his entire body was covered from head to toe in tally marks. And if he was running around free in the asylum...

Batman just ran harder, scarcely wanting to think about what would happen if he didn't get there in time. He continued down the hall, almost tripping over a stray rat that came out of nowhere. Just then the comm link in his cowl started buzzing. He had a pretty good idea who would be calling right about now.

"Oracle, can you hear me?", he asked, pressing his finger against the cowl where his ear, and comm, would be. Oracle, also known as Barbara Gordon, was the daughter of Commissioner Gordon and a technical wizard who took up residence in Gotham City's clock tower. There she kept tabs on everything that moved in the city and constantly aided Batman by streaming information to him when he needed it.

"Loud and clear," was her quick reply when she heard Batman's voice. "What's up?"

"Joker's escaped custody," Batman informed her. "He's running free in Arkham."

"Do you need anything?", she asked, then added worriedly, "Is my... Dad still there?"

"Commissioner Gordon is safe," he assured her. "Joker's not far ahead. I'll stay in contact." With that he opened a door to find a couple of guards who appeared to be yelling at someone in another room. "Let him go!" one of them shouted. "You'll only end up in more trouble if you continue!" Batman approached the guard that did the yelling.

"Thank God," the guard panted relieved when he noticed him. "It's Zsasz! He's got Mike! He's strapped to the chair! Zsasz has totally lost it!" Batman put a firm hand on his shoulder in order to get him to calm down. "Wait here," he told him.

"You can't!", the other guard cried. "He'll kill Mike if he sees anyone trying to get close!"

"He won't see me," Batman said simply.

As if on cue, Batman heard Zsasz's unusually high voice echo from the other room, "...I see anything that looks even a _little bit _like a bat, and this guard dies. Do you hear me!?" His threat was swiftly followed by the sound of electricity and a man's screams of pain. It didn't take much imagination to guess that Zsasz had Mike bound to an electric chair and was now zapping him to prove his point. Batman needed a different approach if he was going to take out Zsasz before he fried the poor guard into a crisp.

He went into the other room and quickly ascended the stairs to the top where he saw more guards watching Zsasz over the guardrail, helpless to do anything other than shout, "Put the trigger down Zsasz!" He also saw one of the doctors furiously typing at one of the computers, probably vainly trying to get security back under control.

"This is disgraceful," she muttered with a thick German accent. He recognized her as Zsasz's personal psychiatrist. "How did a patient like Victor get free?"

"We'll worry about that later, doctor," Batman told her.

"He wants to kill the guard, you know," she continued. "He _needs _to kill the guard." Batman understood too well. Zsasz was unnaturally obsessed with killing people and wouldn't hesitate to kill Mike at the first chance he got; he was probably hoping someone would try to stop him so that he could carry out his threat. Batman had to work fast.

He went over to the guardrail and saw Zsasz shirtless and carrying what looked like the trigger to the electric chair he had Mike strapped to. The guard was barely moving, but looked like he was still alive. Barely.

"Zsasz has got my buddy," the guard standing next to Batman said helplessly. "He's gonna fry him! Do something, please!"

"Keep him occupied. I need to get behind him." Batman looked around the room, searching for a way to get to Zsasz without alerting him. He would need to glide in silently from behind, but he wasn't high enough. That was when he noticed a gargoyle sitting above him, and he got an idea.

Taking out his grappling gun, he aimed it at the statue and pulled the trigger. Immediately a hooked line shot out of it and imbedded itself into the gargoyle's eye. The line then pulled at Batman swiftly and he hoisted himself up unto the stone monster. He perched himself in front and leaned in slightly to check on Zsasz. Fortunately it didn't appear that Zsasz heard him as his attention was still focused on the door in front of him.

Batman then shot his grappler at the ceiling and swung himself unto another gargoyle. So far so good. He swung to another one, this time positioning himself right behind Zsasz. Without a moment's hesitation, he spread his cape and launched himself into a glide in Zsasz's direction.

When he got right behind him, he extended his legs and drove his boots into his back, causing him to hit the floor. Before he could recover, Batman landed on his back and struck his balding head, knocking him out.

When the guards saw it was safe, they piled in and one of them said, "Someone put this animal back in his cell. They started to unstrap Mike from the chair, who had apparently passed out from the pain, while another got busy putting cuffs on the immobilized Zsasz.

The television screens suddenly came to life to reveal a wide angle shot of someone's large cleavage and a high pitched voice saying, "Can ya hear me? Is this thing on?"

_Oh. No. _Batman was _not _looking forward to having to deal with this one. A young woman's masked, painted face and blonde pigtails soon came up on screen and she smiled cheerily when she saw him.

"Oh, hiya B-Man!", she chirped happily. "Harley Quinn here! How d'ya like my new uniform? Pretty hot, huh?" She turned and posed seductively, showing off her curves in a skimpy short skirt that seemed to be biker themed. It was a far cry from the usual red and black jumpsuit she always wore before.

"Oh!", she exclaimed. "I had something to show you! One second, B-Man!" She ran off screen for a moment, then pushed a chair that appeared to have Warden Sharp bound and gagged on it. "Ta-da!", she cried. Sharp struggled against the ropes that tied his arms to the chair, but to no avail.

Batman glared at the screen and swore at himself. Now they had the Warden taken hostage. Things were getting out of hand much faster than he thought.

Harley appeared on screen again and put her arm around the older man, announcing, "I'm now subbing for the old man! Old Sharpie's never been happier! In case ya ain't figured it out, today's the Joker's big homecoming, and you're the guest of honor!"

Batman had heard enough. "You have one chance to surrender, Quinn," he said, knowing she wouldn't actually go for it. He guessed correctly, for she put on a mock thinking pose then said, "Tempting, Bats, but no dice! Now the _inmates _are running the asylum. Well, technically, the Joker's goons shipped in from Blackgate... but you get the idea! Bye-bye for now!" And with that she took Sharp's cane and flung it at the camera, causing the screen to go fuzzy.

_Damn it, _he thought. _This is going to be a long night._

* * *

**So there you have it! Sorry this chapter is shorter than the other one. Please review and follow/favorite if you liked it!**


	3. The Gas Room

**Sorry this chapter took so long. :(**

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

**The Gas Room**

"Batman, you picking this up?"

Oracle's anxious voice had cut through Batman's private thoughts and pulled him back to reality. He walked to an isolated corner so that they could converse in private.

"Oracle, I'm here," he responded. She continued with, "Arkham Asylum just vanished off the network!" In just the span of a few minutes things had gone from bad to worse, and Batman felt that it was only beginning.

"He's in control of the security system," he told her. "He's probably isolated it from the grid."

"That's not all he's done," Oracle went on. "All police feeds are reporting he's placed bombs all over Gotham. Says he'll detonate them if anyone sets foot on Arkham Island. It's being suppressed at the moment, but the story will break anytime now."

_Just like Joker, _Batman thought to himself. _Always keeping the police and everyone else in the dark about his plans until his "grand opening"._

"He's lying," he stated. "It's just a diversion to keep people away."

"How do you know?" Oracle asked him.

"I know him," was his only reply. Truthfully he felt disgusted at being able to predict his every move, almost literally reading his mind. Years of experience had taught him plenty about his arch-rival, and he didn't like that at all.

He disconnected the call when someone behind him cried, "The room's locked down! I can't open this gate! We're trapped in here!"

"Try the radio," someone else suggested. "Control should be able to shut down the gate." Batman looked down at his boots and started to ponder. If Joker was in control of the system now it would be useless to try and radio for help, and even if that wasn't the case it would take too long to try and get the gate open; Batman had to get out there and find Joker and Harley _now._

He glanced to his left and saw a ventilation grate about his size. An idea suddenly came to him.

_Harley thinks she has me trapped in this chamber. She never was very bright. _He bent down on his knees and tightly grabbed the grating. Then he started to pull as hard as he could. Soon enough the screws flew off the wall and Batman placed the cover to the side. He then started crawling inside the ventilation shaft just as someone saw what he did and announced, "He got out! Batman's found a way out!" Thankfully the shaft was big enough for Batman to crawl in and he made his way through rather easily.

He crawled up and made a right just as Oracle started to speak up again, "Batman, I'm patching you into the guard radio feed." The comm then switched to someone else's voice saying, "...Steve, more Blackgate prisoners, by the boiler! ...Who's that behind them? ...My God, it's Joker! ...He's free! How'd he break out!?" Batman expected him to continue, but instead heard nothing.

"Sorry, feed's down," Oracle's voice said. Comms are up and down like crazy. It's not good. I'll keep trying."

Batman continued to quickly crawl up the shaft, then he made a left and then a right. Before long he came across another grate opening and proceeded to start pushing it with his leg. When he felt it came loose enough he gave it a hard kick and it went flying out.

He dropped down into the Processing Corridor and started running again, hoping against hope that he would come across something, _anything _that would lead him to Joker before long. He got more than what he bargained for when he heard the intercom ring and the woman's voice saying, _"Warning: Decontamination Room. Toxins detected", _and then made a right to find a guard standing in front of the window. When the intercom finished its announcement the guard started pounding the window yelling, "They're trapped in there!"

The intercom continued saying, _"Warning: Decontamination. Area sealed." _As if on cue, the glass window was instantly sealed up by a steel barrier, leaving only a small opening to see through. Batman looked through and saw the room starting to fill up with what looked like green smoke. The guard beside him started to panic.

"What is that stuff!?", he asked apprehensively.

"Joker toxin," Batman growled with disgust. This was one of Joker's favorite murder techniques, and the room appeared to have at least three or four people trapped inside. He had to act fast, knowing that any small delay would end up killing everyone inside.

He turned to the guard. "Listen, the room's filled with poison gas! Anyone caught in there is dead." The guard was naturally not reassured. "Are you gonna get in there and help them Batman?" Instead of answering, Batman scanned the room looking for another way in. The door and window were sealed shut, so the only other way to get would have to be...

He looked up and saw what he was looking for: another ventilation grate next to a ledge above him. He grappled up to it and pulled off the grate. Without wasting anymore time he shot himself into the shaft and crawled as fast as he could.

"I think I can still see people alive in the room," he heard the guard call out weakly. Batman just crawled harder, knowing they wouldn't be for much longer: Joker always took pride in his fast-acting poisons.

He quickly came to the end of the shaft and violently kicked away at the grate. _This isn't a simple escape attempt, _he said to himself as he kicked. _Joker has been planning this! _He kicked harder, and it finally flew off. He jumped down just in time to hear someone screaming, "Over here! Please!" He saw another guard hanging onto the ledge for dear life, just about ready to fall. Batman leapt for him just as his fingers slipped. He closed his fingers around his wrist and started to pull him up as fast as he could.

He finally managed to drag him up and lay him down as he breathed rapidly, trying to regain his composure. "You're gonna be fine. Stay here." Suddenly he heard an explosion in front of him and someone saying, "Batman's here! Just hold on a little longer Steve!"

He jumped to the next ledge and saw a guard calling to someone above him. He followed his line of vision to see another one hanging from the ledge.

"I can't!", the guard screamed at his buddy as he continued to slowly lose his grip. "I'm gonna fall!" Batman quickly grappled to his position and grabbed his arms just before he slipped.

"I'm going after the animal who did this," Batman assured him as he tried to calm himself. Before he could do anything else the guard below called, "Batman! The extraction system! Steve was trying to get to the control panel at the end of the room!" Instead of responding Batman jumped and glided to the next ledge ahead of him. He looked below him and saw that, for the most part, he was already too late.

He saw the mangled corpses of guards and inmates alike that had died as a result of the poisonous gas. He gave a silent grunt of frustration, wishing that he got here sooner. But no time to worry about that now: if he didn't do anything the whole room would be filled up and they will all die.

As he looked for the extraction system, he heard another voice a few feet away from him coughing, "...he left me here! That son of a..." He found a live inmate hanging off the ledge, about to fall into the gas. _How did all these guys manage to find themselves in the same predicament? _Batman could only wonder.

He pulled up the inmate rather roughly and proceeded to knock him out before he could get a word out. He may not have deserved to die in this horrible way, but Batman was certainly not going to just let him walk away either.

He looked over to his right and found the extraction control panel below him. He couldn't glide down there lest the gas would consume him, but he figured that a well thrown batarang would turn the system on. He threw it at the control box, hoping he wouldn't accidentally break it. It found its mark, and soon enough the gas was being sucking into the specially placed decontamination vents. When the room was cleared the intercom buzzed to life and the voice said, _"Attention. Air purity is now at normal level. Attention. Decontamination Room access is now permitted." _Batman leapt to the floor and nearly sighed in relief as the doors began to open, until he heard an all-too familiar laugh on the intercom. Joker must have been up to something really big to try and keep Batman preoccupied as long as possible.

"Whoo!", a guard behind him whooped. "Go Batman! You rock! Joker doesn't stand a chance!" Batman wasn't too sure about that. Joker still had the lead and he had no idea what he was up to. He had to hurry before someone else got hurt or killed.

He exited out through the door at the opposite end of the room when he heard Joker's voice over the intercom cackling, _"What are you waiting for? I'm so close you can almost taste me!" _Batman entered the Transfer Loop and saw that someone had spray painted green arrows on the floor pointing to the Secure Treatment Transfer. It was so easy it had to be a trap.

He saw that his hunch was correct, for two more inmates attacked him as he rounded the corner. Anyone else would have been caught helpless against their ambush, but he was ready for anything, and these two punks were barely a threat to him. A few well-placed punches later and both were beaten senseless before his feet.

He opened the door that had Joker's face painted on it, and found what he was looking for. The Joker was standing on top of a steel container meant for holding the strongest inmates as they were transferred to stronger holding cells.

"What took ya so long?" the clown asked in mock annoyance. Batman just took out another batarang and hurled it at Joker. Anticipating this, he ducked just in time, giggling.

"There's no escape, Joker," Batman roared. "I will find you!"

"Oooh, I'm counting on it!" Joker chuckled. "Just not yet!" As he said it he stomped his foot on the lock and the container's door opened up to reveal something that made even Batman's hairs stand on end.


	4. Traitor

**Chapter 4:**

**Traitor**

The thing that stepped out of the container was truly horrendous. Standing at about eleven feet tall, it appeared to be human-like but was so deformed that it was hard to tell. One side of its body was twice as big as the other, its right arm much larger and meatier than its bony left one, each one sporting long, claw-like fingernails. Batman could see its spine sticking grotesquely out of its back, along with other bone fragments dotted around its body.

It jumped down in front of Batman and scowled at him with green eyes that literally glowed. It bared its jagged teeth and a guttural roar escaped its lips.

Almost without warning, it charged at Batman, and he was barely able to jump out of the way in time. It turned, growling angrily, and charged again. Batman narrowly missed getting trampled under its gargantuan feet. He prepared himself for the next charge, but the beast seemed to understand that it wasn't getting anywhere with this.

It walked over to one of the dead guards on the floor, picked him up, and threw him at Batman. The dark knight managed to dodge the flying body but didn't see as the monster chucked another one at him, this one colliding with him at full force.

Having the wind knocked out of him, Batman tried to steady himself and clear his vision. He leapt away, almost too late, as the monster charged him and threw its fist down unto the ground where he stood just a second ago. He ran behind it and started to punch it, rapidly hitting where its vitals should be, but it had no affect on it.

The creature spun around and back slapped him hard across the face, sending him flying to the other end of the room. He tasted blood in his mouth. He wiped it away quickly as the monster started to charge once again. An idea came to him, and he took out a batarang. It was a gamble, but he had to try.

Trying to keep his aim steady, he threw the batarang at the creature's face. It found its mark and the goliath covered its face in pain, but continued to run. Batman rolled out of the way just as it slammed into the wall.

The beast kept its face covered as it used its other arm to flail around violently, moaning in pain. Batman tried to stand, disoriented from his beating. He couldn't move out of the way fast enough as the brute brought another hard swing to his bruised body. Batman hit the floor once again, his vision going dark and fuzzy as he battled dizziness and tried to remain conscious.

Before he could completely regain his senses he felt a large hand fiercely grip the behind of his neck and lift him up from the ground. Then he felt himself violently being thrown through the air again, banging hard against the other wall.

He slumped to the floor, his consciousness nearly gone for good. Then he suddenly felt himself being pinned to the floor by a large foot, the claws digging into his armored suit. He looked up and saw the monster raise its right arm above its head, ready to strike. Batman braced himself.

Suddenly, the titan stopped and gasped. Then it clutched at its chest, groaning softly at first. Then it roared in agony as it grabbed its head and twitched and swayed back and forth spastically.

_It's going into cardiac arrest, _Batman realized.

As quickly as it started, the monster went limp and silent, the green glow in its eyes disappearing. It then fell stiffly backwards and hit the floor, never to move again.

"Well," Joker said momentarily, "_That_ was unexpected, wasn't it? Oh, well." He then pressed his fingers to his forehead and mumbled, "Note to self: need stronger test subjects..."

He turned back to Batman, who was still trying to get his bearings, and said smiling, "Seeing as how I'm feeling generous, I'll give you this one for free." He stepped forward and spread his arms wide. His expression suddenly going serious, he yelled, "Knock me off, I _dare _you! End this! Pull the plug, stop me once and for all!"

_Is he actually surrendering? _Batman pulled out another batarang and prepared to throw it, but stopped himself. Joker was standing above a fifty foot drop, and he knew he wouldn't be able to survive such a drop.

_No, _he decided. He couldn't risk killing him no matter how much he wanted to, and he suspected Joker knew that as well._ He's mocking me. _He lowered his batarang and gave an angry growl. Joker then doubled over in contemptuous laughter.

"Oh, you're getting too predictable, Bats!", he hooted as the metal cage he stood on sprang to life and started sliding backwards. The large bay doors behind it opened up wide, ready to receive it inside.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat," Joker called out to him, "But I have a party to organize! I've got guests flying in from _all _over Arkham! You'll see..." They doors then slowly closed, sealing away the cackling madman.

Another wave of dizziness hit Batman and he leaned against the way to steady himself. He spit up more blood and shook his head, forcing his vision to clear up.

He heard something beside him. He looked up to see a figure rising to his feet inside one of the control booths. It appeared to be one of the guards. _At least they're not all dead yet._

"Quick," the guard said hurriedly as he deactivated the electrical barrier. "Get in here before more of them come!" Batman stepped inside, his footing still a little uneasy. The guard took a few breaths, obviously trying to shake the cobwebs out his head as well.

"They came out of nowhere," he wheezed. "I dragged Jerry in here, powered up the gate... must've passed out..."

"Joker went through that door," Batman pressed him for information. "What's on the other side?"

"We call it extreme isolation. Only way in is via the transport system."

"Open it!"

"Not a problem. I'll just need to call another cell." With that the guard walked over to one of the computers. "Okay..." He tapped at the keyboard for a few seconds, but then stopped suddenly.

"Something's wrong here," he said. "The main security loop is locked." Just then the television screens popped to life, and someone's face appeared, leering at them.

"Having a little trouble up there?" Batman tensed, but wasn't surprised: "Joker."

"You were expecting, maybe, Two-Face?"

"There's no escape, Joker."

"Silly bat! I don't want to escape, I'm having way too much fun! I even have you here to keep a smile on my face!"

Batman glared at him. "Not for long," he growled.

"_Really?", _cried Joker in mock astonishment. "We'll see. Ta-ta!" He turned to leave, but then grabbed the camera and continued, "Oh, I forgot to say: just in case you were planning on following me, I arranged a little insurance."

He turned the camera to face another screen. This one had Commissioner Gordon and Officer Boles in it, who were apparently still in the holding cells. Joker beamed into the camera and went on, "Gordon is on his way to Harley as we speak!"

As he said it, Batman watched as Boles snuck up behind Gordon, struck him hard on the back of the head with his baton, then drag him out of the room.

Batman couldn't believe it. _Officer Boles! _True, he was unscrupulous and not well liked, but he never imagined that he was secretly working for Joker. And now he had Gordon taken hostage.

_No!_

Joker let out another loud laugh. "If I see you trying to follow me, _he dies! _Harley's looking forward to it! Maybe I'll film it and post it on the internet!" He continued laughing as the screen went black.

"The transport system is down," the guard next to Batman stated, pulling him out of his frustrated thoughts. "Best I can do is open the door you came in. Sorry."

_Better that way, _Batman thought. _I should go back to the Holding Cells. Boles wasn't too smart: he'll have left a trail. _He left the booth and opened the door leading back to the transfer loop.

"Batman!" Oracle's voice yelled over the com-link. "What's happening?"

"Joker's escaped. He's sealed himself off." He paused before finishing, "He's got your father."

"Dad!", she gasped in horror.

"Don't worry, I'm getting him back."

"Okay, I know, but..."

"Oracle, I'm getting him back," he cut her off. "Joker will _not _win! I won't let him! I'm starting where he was taken. A guard named Frank Boles attacked him. If I find Frank I'll find your father."

"Bruce...," she said weakly. "Hurry, please!" When she disconnected the call, he turned left and took off at a run. He had to catch up with them before Joker or Harley could get their hands on him.

As he ran, he could hear Joker's voice over the intercom. _"I bet you're wondering how I did it!", _it said playfully. _"Was it a clue the great detective missed? Heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee... Oh, me and Frankie go _way _back! I got him out of a spot of, uh... bother a few years ago. So when I need security codes, or an old man clubbed to the ground, he's just the man to have!_

So Boles was into this deeper than Batman originally thought. How many other times did he help the lunatic escape, he wondered...

Just then he came across more Blackgate thugs standing over a couple of badly beaten guards. The two thugs came at him with metal pipes, but they were no match for him. He kicked them down and put out their lights. Then he opened the door to the Holding cells and walked in.

There was no sign of Boles or Gordon as he entered, so he strode into the control booth where he last saw them and called Oracle.

"I'm at the holding cells," he told her. "I'm setting up a crime scene."

"So what's the plan," she responded. "Isolate something in that room to lead you to Boles?"

"Exactly."

He then switched his cowl to Detective Mode, state-of-the-art technology that he installed to help him find clues. With it he could see all kinds of things invisible to the naked eye, such as various gasses, chemicals, heat signatures, and much more.

As he looked around the now brightly colored room, his eyes caught something laying on the floor. It appeared to be a flask of spilled alcohol. _Boles dropped his flask. Sloppy. _He started to scan it. It turned out to be bourbon, and as he continued to scan he saw traces of it mixed with carbon dioxide in the air. This was _just _what he needed to get a head start.

"Oracle, I've got a trail," he told Barbara.

"That's great," she said relieved. "You follow it. I'm grabbing every reference to Arkham I can find. May be useful later."

Batman didn't waste any time as he followed the traces of alcohol in the air. The trail led him all the through the Transfer Loop to the door leading to the Secure Transit.

_Hold on Jim, _he prayed as he pumped his sore legs and willed them to carry him faster. _Just hold on! I'm on my way!_


End file.
